Raised in the Hasidic Jewish community of Borough Park, Schechter left Orthodoxy after high school but maintained a love for the traditional Jewish music of her youth. Her own music often blends concepts from Jewish music with a variety of styles and sounds from Eastern Europe, the Arab world, and Africa, among others.[1]
Early life
Schechter was born to an Orthodox Jewish family and grew up in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.[2][3] Her father was in a short-lived barbershop quartet managed by Don Kirshner during the 1950s; after the group's demise, he returned to school and became an accountant.[4] During Basya's childhood, he often sang with her on Shabbat and exposed her to Israeli artists like Tzvika Pick, Shimi Tavori, and Kaveret.[2][3] Her parents divorced when she was nine; she went to live with her father, who remarried when she was 14. She has said that due to her chaotic family life, she was less restricted than others in her community.[2][3]
She attended the local Bais Yaakov for much of her schooling, where she choreographed several high school dance performances.[4][5][6] After high school, she briefly attended an Orthodox girls' seminary in Jerusalem before being asked to leave due to her rebellious behavior; she subsequently spent time in Egypt, where she was introduced to Arabic music.[7] Returning to New York, she attended Barnard College as an English major, during which time she began writing and performing songs.[6] In her late twenties, she held various jobs, including a brief stint as editor of the Street News homeless poet page,[2] and went backpacking throughout Africa, the Aegean Region, and Kurdistan, studying the music and instruments of various countries.[3][7]
Schechter formed Pharaoh's Daughter in 1995 while in college.[6] The band's name is a reference to Schechter's given name, a Yiddish variant of the Biblical daughter of Pharaoh, Bithiah.[5] They debuted in 1999 with the independent album Daddy's Pockets and were signed to Knitting Factory Records later that year.[2] The label then released the band's second album, Out of the Reeds (2000). Their most recent album, Dumiyah, was released in 2014.[4]
Solo career
Schechter released her debut solo album, Queen's Dominion, in 2004 on Tzadik Records. The album was conceived by Schechter and percussionist Jarrod Cagwin[8] and was produced by her and Albert Leusink (Swingadelic, System Band).
In 2011, she released Songs of Wonder, an album of musical arrangements of the Yiddish-language poetry of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. She had been introduced to Heschel's poetry in 2005 after receiving a volume of it from a congregant at B'nai Jeshurun.[3] Prior to its release, the album was premiered at Tzadik's Radical Jewish Culture Festival.[1][9]
Schechter was romantically involved with Rabbi Shaul Magid beginning in 2013[11] and created an album together.[15] As noted in a review of the album in Musica Judaica, "Cantor Basya Schechter and Rabbi Shaul Magid developed a localized musical tradition of setting Kabbalat Shabbat texts to Appalachian old-time music... over the course of a decade" together at Fire Island, resulting in "a timeless, transcendent musical experience" [16]
Leaving the Fold (2008) – Canadian documentary on young men and women who left the Hasidic Jewish community, featuring former Hasidic Jews in the United States, Israel and Canada.[17]
